Pics: Spoorthi Ullal/ Abhijith N Kolpe
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru/Udupi (SP)
Mangaluru/Udupi, Dec 10: Polling has commenced today as part of the election process for the twin member Dakshina Kannada and Udupi local administrations constituency.
MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, MLA Vedavyas Kamath, mayor Premananda Shetty and corporators cast their votes.
Voting at Mangaluru City Corporation also was in progress. Social distancing guidelines were allegedly violated by all the voters at the polling center.
Mangaluru
Udupi
BJP and Congress are engaged in an indirect fight in the poll. Besides the BJP and the Congress, SDPI has fielded its candidate for this election.
Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary from the BJP, Congress leader Manjunath Bhandary and Shafi K of the SDPI are in the fray.
A total of 6,040 voters spread over Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts will cast their votes in 389 polling booths set up for the purpose.
By 10 am, the polling percentage in Dakshina Kannada constituency stood at 45.98%.
Speaking to reporters after casting his vote, state BJP president and MP Nalin Kumar Kateel said, “Elections for 25 MLC seats is underway in the state. All MLAs and MCC members have casted their vote for the candidates of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. BJP candidate Kota Srinivas Poojary is going to get elected for the fourth time with a huge margin which will be highest in the state.”
Kateel also expressed that BJP will create a record in this election by winning highest number of seats. BJP is contesting in 20 out of the 25 seats. Kateel said that last time BJP won in six seats and this time it is going to win in 15 seats.
In Udupi, minister Sunil Kumar cast his vote at Karkala municipal council. Udupi MLA Raghupati Bhat and other city municipality members also cast their votes at the CMC polling station.
Speaking to media after casting vote, MLA Raghupati Bhat said, "We are confident that Kota Srinivas Poojary will win this election. We have given the first priority votes to him. Apart from BJP, other party members are also casting their votes for Poojary. He has been a very clean and neat politician in his duties of department. For the first time in Karnataka, he was the one to organise a sports meet for the local body representatives.”
The polling percentage stood at 100% in Hebri and Someshwara polling booth at 11 am.
By 12 noon, the polling percentage in Dakshina Kannada constituency stood at 95.15%.
State minister for agriculture Shobha Karandlaje cast her vote at Mudigere town panchayat.
By 2 pm, the polling percentage in Dakshina Kannada constituency stood at 98.05%.